Hugo Chávez leaves Petroperú amid questions

“Sir, I am no longer going to give statements, I have already resigned. Petroperu”. A) Yes, Hugo Chavezuntil then general manager of Petroperú, exclusively confirmed to La República his departure from the state oil company minutes before three in the afternoon yesterday.

And it is that after days of uncertainty in the first company in Peru, which even brought a confrontation between its shareholders —the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF)—, Chávez Arévalo finally decided step aside and submitted his irrevocable resignation to the position of general manager and as a member of the Board of Directors.

Minutes later, through a statement, Petroperú indicated that Chávez has ceased to be part of the company and today a Board meeting will be held with the appointment of his replacement as the only item on the agenda.

This newspaper was able to learn that the main candidate would be Fernando de la Torre, current corporate finance manager of Petroperú. However, sources from the sector revealed that this official follows the same line as Chávez. They also warn that De la Torre would be the promoter of the confidentiality clause and the failed negotiations with PwC, which is why today the company lacks an audit. Likewise, they point to him as the promoter of Petroperú ignoring the agreement with Altamesa for the operation of Block 192.

Prelude to his resignation

Before Chavez’s departure was known, between Saturday and Sunday, the now former official had a total of four conversations with the President of the Republic, Pedro Castillo. The last one was yesterday at 12:30 pm, in which they were talking for almost an hour. Minutes later the news reached our newsroom that Chavez had submitted his resignation.

For the former Minister of Energy and Mines Iván Merino, the departure of Chávez will not solve the entire problem that Petroperú drags, since the first company in Peru must be thoroughly oxygenated. “[Se debe]exclude the faint-hearted and opportunists. Petroperú deserves to have the role that was pointed out from the beginning of this struggle. Everyone’s company for the well-being of Peru”, expressed the former official through his social networks.

the questions

Since his appointment on October 7, 2021 as general manager, Hugo Chávez has been involved in several questions.

The first was about the alleged irregular tender for US$ 74 million for the purchase of biodiesel B100 by Petroperú.

In this case, it was denounced that Chávez, in his capacity as general manager, would have met with Pedro Castillo and businessman Samir Abudayeh at the Government Palace. Two weeks after that appointment, the visiting supplier was the winner of the tender.

However, the then general manager denied this meeting and pointed out that the purchase was already scheduled five months before, and was made 10 days after he took office.

Another relevant fact was the review and evaluation of the suitability of the contract subscription process —signed in August 2021— for the joint investment in Block 192 with the company Altamesa Energy Canada Inc.

This review occurred because, according to the state oil company, the agreement —celebrated by the previous administration— was carried out without having previously signed the license contract between Petroperú and Perupetro, as provided by law 30357 and without having obtained the issuance of the final report. of the prior consultation process.

The last fact that led to Chavez’s departure was the non-signing of the contract with the PwC company for the financial audit service because Petroperú decided to make changes to the work schedule, confidentiality, among other conditions, according to what the same firm warned. consultancy.

Due to this, the Comptroller General of the Republic had to launch a new public tender for auditing companies to review the financial statements of Petroperú, which must be presented next May.

The sum of these situations caused Fitch to lower its debt rating on Petroperú to BBB- and a week later —on Tuesday, March 15— Standard & Poor’s (S&P) did the same and lowered the long-term rating of the state-owned company from BBB. – to BB+, a step where the ‘junk bonds’ are located.

Both rating agencies argued that this is due to the company’s lack of financial transparency and weak governance. The latter caused the shareholders of Petroperú, the MEF and Minem, to publicly disagree on the conduct that the company should follow under their responsibility. A week after President Castillo’s vacancy, he ended up supporting the MEF’s position. Political stuff.

National strike of the Petroperú union is suspended

Given the irrevocable resignation of Hugo Chávez to the General Management and the Board of Directors, the Union of Administrative Workers of Petroperú (Stapp) decided to suspend the national strike scheduled for today and tomorrow.

Likewise, the union of the state company requested that the new administration represent a change and contribute to the strengthening of Petroperú.

“This decision was made in view of the fact that one of our demands has been partially solved with the resignation of the general manager, we hope that the new administration will not be more of the same and there will be a real change in this new stage of Petroperú”, they told through a statement.

It is important to remember that the Stapp agreed to a national strike so that the abuses by the General Management to the detriment of the workers and union leaders cease, as well as compliance with the 2021 arbitration award.

Notice of resignation

With a brief statement, Petroperú made official the departure of Chávez from the state company.